My name is Ella Lewis, I am a freshman at the University of North Dakota studying Commercial Aviation. Growing up, my dream was to serve the public in any way possible, whether it was through healthcare, service, education, and many more professions. It wasn't until 2021 when I started flying with my grandfather in his 1946 Luscombe that I realized I had a love for aviation. This gave my life more direction as I started researching colleges and careers. In 2024, I decided to take the jump and undergo flight training through Civil Air Patrol (CAP), this was great because I was unable to afford a traditional Part 61 flight school. I thought that this opportunity would only get me to my Private Pilot’s License, but it did so much more. Through CAP, I was given endless chances to gain leadership skills, teach others, and inspire younger kids through the lens of a young pilot. This sparked my passion for teaching, and gave me valuable skills that I use everyday. Over the past three years I have been in Civil Air Patrol, I have been able to inspire younger kids by teaching them about flight planning, careers, and even setting up their first ever flights. While I was doing this, I earned my Private Pilots License at 41 hours, in August of 2025. These accomplishments wouldn’t have been possible without an amazing flight instructor who has believed in and inspired me to be the person I am today. This love for teaching I've found has made me so excited to advance my career to becoming a flight instructor. I hope to someday instruct in tailwheel aircraft, just like what I initially learned how to fly in. As of November 2025, I am continuing my passion for flying by working on a tailwheel endorsement from a local airport in Minnesota, since the cost of flight training at UND is too high just to earn an endorsement that I already have experience in. Though I love to teach, I also have other career aspirations post graduation. I hope to become a pilot for the U.S Coast Guard in order to assist in operations such as search and rescue. During my high school career I gained extensive experience in search and rescue by attending survival schools, and networking with others in similar fields. As I stated before, when I was younger I was interested in becoming a healthcare worker. This is because they have a direct positive impact on our society, which is something I am highly passionate about and want to take with me throughout my career. As someone who is highly achievement driven, I will do whatever it takes in order to reach my goals, though unfortunately it's impossible to reach my goal of becoming a professional pilot without the funding. I don’t want a lack of money to be the reason I am unable to follow my dreams and continue to be passionate about a life of aviation. I know that a career as a pilot is what's right for me, and after graduating and attaining the required licences I hope to give back to the community in the same ways they have given to me; through teaching and inspiring others.

On October 13th of 2021, I took my first flight in my grandfather's vintage 1946 Luscombe. I had been waiting years to go flying with him and my parents had finally agreed to let me. After this, I was hooked. Now, for the past four years I have been flying with him consistently and learning how to manage an airplane. He was an aircraft mechanic for the Air Force, and continued with maintenance after retiring. So, safety and learning engine systems has been an important factor in my training, and I believe it to be very important as a student pilot. In college and through my career in aviation, I plan to prioritize safety, not only by keeping myself safe, but also educating others. At some point in my career I plan to become a flight instructor, and I want to educate others on how to make proper decisions regarding flight and aeronautical decision making (ADM). In September, 2024 I enrolled and began flight training through the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). Later that month, after just seven hours of training, I took my first ever stage check. The point of it was to make sure I was fit to solo by practicing important maneuvers like takeoffs and landings, and most importantly emergency procedures. The exam went well until we came back to the airport to land, or try to. I approached the airport and set up for a go around, to show I was capable of conducting one. However, as I added full power, the engine sputtered and died out. In the moment, I did not panic, but made sure to go through the checklist in my head. I handed the controls over to the other pilot, and continued to check the instruments and settings of the plane. Fortunately we were able to get partial power back and climb to 500 feet. In the moment, my mind was clear, and went over the checklist while my instructor communicated to Air Traffic Control (ATC). He was able to declare an emergency. Major airlines were doing go-arounds, and staying in the pattern. We gained enough altitude to circle back to a crossing runway. Crossing just over the cold waters of Portland Harbor, we landed safely. After making it back to the ramp, I got out of the plane and talked to my check pilot, and my real instructor. As a group, along with a representative from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), we discussed what happened. They assured me that the engine failure was not due to pilot error, but because of a true systematic problem of the powerplant. Though I knew this, I still felt scared, and this pushed me to learn more and become a better pilot, and it made me prioritize learning emergency procedures and being prepared for anything that could happen. For the next three months while the plane was being serviced, I continued to learn and fly with my grandfather. This made it so I was able to stay current and get back into training quicker. While the plane was being serviced, the maintenance crew found out that the push rod had bent and blocked the exhaust pipe, creating a partial engine failure. Finally, in December of 2024, I was able to fly with my instructor again. We practiced takeoffs and landings to prepare me for a safe solo, and before I knew it I was in the air alone. I have always felt that knowing about risk management and emergency protocols have been one of the most important factors of learning how to fly. Through my career I plan to prioritize safe aeronautical decision making (ADM), and teach others to do the same. My experience has forced me to prioritize safety in my training and has made me a better pilot. I hope to teach others the same in the future, like how my grandfather taught me. This includes continuing to learn about engine systems and maintenance in order to understand why accidents can happen and how to avoid them.

In October of 2021, I shoved myself into the small cockpit of my grandfather's 1946 Luscombe. This was the first time my parents had allowed me to go flying with him, and I could not have been more excited. We flew over the mountains to New Hampshire, landing on a small grass strip, fields of flowers surrounding us. Truly, this was one of the best days of my life, and my interest for aviation grew as I continued to fly with my grandfather at least once a week. Later, I joined the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) where I began flight training in September of 2024. I currently hold a class one medical certificate and a student pilot's license. At just seven hours of official flight training I was close to getting a solo endorsement. Unfortunately, I was unable to be endorsed because of an engine failure during a go around which cost the plane a new cylinder. This meant that the plane had to go through extensive maintenance in order to be considered airworthy again. As of November 2024, the issues are not fixed so I am unable to continue training.I did not let this scare stop me though. The next week I was back in the plane with my grandfather, flying to new airports across Maine and New Hampshire, learning how to read charts and plan a cross country flight. I could not be more excited to pursue a career in aviation, and I feel that the experience I’ve had makes me a strong candidate for professional programs. The reason I chose to take on this career is to better serve my community. This is something that has always been a goal for me and I have done everything I can by organizing clubs, volunteering at events and institutions, and being a member of CAP. An experience in aviation that has had a positive effect on me is volunteering at the Greenville International Sea-Plane Fly In. In September of 2024, I spent two days learning how to marshall and move around sea-planes. Though this was the main reason I was volunteering, I also made new friends and connections. The group of individuals I was with all had a clear interest in aviation and this motivated me further to continue making connections and talking to people with shared interests. Through college I hope to maintain these connections for the future. I am not 100 percent sure where my career in aviation will take me yet, but a dream of mine is to be a pilot for the Coast Guard. Search and rescue has been another passion of mine and I can see myself in that world after I graduate college. In June of 2024, I had the opportunity to attend a flight on the KC-135 with my CAP squadron. This experience opened my eyes to the possibilities of a career in aviation and reminded me why aviation is important. I believe one of the reasons aviation is important is because of the effect it can have on others. Many citizens from every community rely on air travel and aviation to see loved ones, travel to work and events, and keep their country safe. My ultimate goal for a career in aviation is to help others, whether it is getting others where they need to go safely, conducting search and rescue missions, or flying into hurricanes to gather weather information, I will be happy with any of these. I cannot wait to begin a professional career in aviation, and I am going to continue doing everything I can to get there.